"Andrew will figure it out. He's not stupid."

"Then you have to be the better liar," Wymack said in a hard voice. "The ERC is looking for a reason to take him away from us, and you know they won't give him back. Then where will you be?"

They were quiet for so long Neil thought they might be done. Finally Kevin said, "Give me your phone."

"If you think I'm going to let you use my phone to call him, you—"

"Jean," Kevin cut in. "I have to call Jean. I have to hear him say it."

Apparently that was an acceptable compromise, because Wymack stopped arguing. Neil looked over his shoulder, wondering if he should make a break for it. He didn't know what was going on, but it had to be awful if it'd brought Kevin this far off his condescending perch. He was debating how quietly he could slip out the door when Kevin spoke. Kevin's bleak tone brought Neil up short, as did the French Kevin was speaking.

"Tell me it isn't true," Kevin said. "Tell me he didn't."

Neil couldn't hear the answer, but the sharp slap of the phone snapping shut again said it wasn't the one Kevin wanted. The couch creaked under someone's body weight and Neil imagined Kevin sinking onto the cushion in despair.

"Wait here," Wymack said, and a few seconds later he stepped into the hallway. He started a little when he spotted Neil at the end of the hallway but said nothing. Neil watched as he disappeared into the kitchen. He recognized the sound of Wymack's liquor cabinet by now, the click of the lock and the soft clink of the glass doors. Wymack returned with a handle of vodka and dropped it off with Kevin.

"Drink," he said from out of sight. "I'll be right back."

Wymack came back to the hallway. Neil pointed over his shoulder at the door in a question. Wymack followed Neil out of his apartment and closed the door behind him. Neil looked down the hall for stray eavesdroppers, but the other doors were closed.

"I wasn't going to tell anyone else until June," Wymack said. "How much did you hear?"

"Kevin's having a nervous breakdown," Neil said. "I don't know why."

"Edgar Allan put in a transfer request with the ERC and it was approved this morning. They're part of the southeastern district effective June 1st."

It took a minute for Wymack's words to make sense. When it clicked, Neil's stomach bottomed out. It'd been hard enough facing Kevin in Arizona. How could Neil risk meeting Riko too? Just because Kevin didn't remember Neil didn't mean Riko wouldn't either. Neil didn't want to find out the hard way if Riko had the better memory of the two.

"That's impossible," Neil said.

"Not really. They're the only NCAA Exy team in West Virginia, so it was as easy as a vote and a couple signatures."

"That's impossible," Neil said again. "We can't play the Ravens. What sane board pits the best and worst teams against each other?"